Antec conference to run along with NPE

By: Brandi Shaffer

March 16, 2012

ORLANDO, FLA. (March 16, 12:55 p.m. ET) — Antec, a technical forum for the plastics industry sponsored by Society of Plastics Engineers (Booth 13000), will be collocated with NPE2012 at the Orlando County Convention Center in Orlando.

Antec will run April 2-4.

The annual technical conference is underwritten by Midland, Mich.-based Dow Chemical Co. and will include more than 500 original, peer-reviewed presentations divided into two tracks: technical and commercial.

Antec events will take place in various rooms in the South Hall on the third level.

The conference features three plenary speakers:

• On April 2, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Frank Doerner, vice president of materials, processes and structures technologies at Boeing Research & Technology, will speak on “Polymer Composites for Aerospace Applications — Past, Present and Future.”

Doerner has been with Boeing Co. since 1983. His department develops and supports technologies involving materials and enabling manufacturing processes.

The presentation will cover optimizing the entire molding process for better part quality, higher output, better cycle times and energy savings.

• On April 4, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Christopher Musso, a partner with Chicago-based consulting firm Mc­Kinsey & Co.’s Chemicals and Product Development practices, will speak on “The Path to Successful Commercialization of New Materials.”

The talk will cover pitfalls that delay commercialization of new materials, and will highlight practices that can help shorten commercialization time by as much as 50 percent.

For a full schedule of events including specific times and descriptions, and locations of speakers, forums and presentations, go to www.4spe.org.

Full conference registration includes admittance to more than 100 technical sessions, three plenary sessions, new technology forums, a fundamentals forum, the NPE expo and access to all technical papers.

The Antec welcome reception will take place from 6-8 p.m. April 2 in Room S330-S331.

Technology forum topics include “Polymers in Energy and Renewable Energy,” “Polymer Applications in Health” and “Emerging Green Technologies.” Young professionals and students can attend a panel discussion, speed interviews and the student awards luncheon for posters and papers.

Visitors can register online at www.npe.org/attend for $825 for SPE/SPI members, or on-site.